Proposed scholarship program could help retain ‘best and brightest’

A new scholarship program could help retain Wisconsin’s “best and brightest,” at University of Wisconsin System campuses.

Republican lawmakers were joined by State Treasurer Matt Adamczyk and UW System President Ray Cross at a press conference at the Capitol on Tuesday.

About 1,000 merit-based scholarships of $5,000 each would go annually to Wisconsin students attending UW System schools.

Representative Tyler August (R-Lake Geneva) is one of the sponsors. “The beauty of the scholarship is that it’s merit-based, and we’re trying to give the UW the tools to keep the best and brightest here in the state.”

Cross said he hoped lawmakers would back the plan, noting there is fierce competition to attract academic standouts. “We’re competing with other Big 10 schools, who in fact offer a completely free ride, some of them, to the best and the brightest. Those students are leaving the state.”

The scholarships would be funded through a complex eight year mechanism. The Board of Commissioners of Public Lands, on which Adamczyk serves, would sell tens of thousands of acres to the Department of Natural Resources. The DNR would in turn send $10 million annually to the board to endow the scholarship program.